Daily News Brief on Rakhine State Affairs 16/02/2018

An entourage headed by Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr. Win Myat Aye visited Maungtaw District in Rakhine State on 15 February to provide authentic, reliable news to the international community about repatriation efforts being undertaken there. The foreign ambassadors, UN agency representatives and other organisations arrived in Sittway Airport on 15 February morning and were welcomed by Dr. Win Myat Aye, Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, Rakhine State ministers and other officials. At the airport guest hall, Dr. Win Myat Aye explained in detail about the operations of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development (UEHRD), and the repatriation and resettlement process for displaced persons mapped out by the Union government. Next, U Nyi Pu gave details of the completed components in the resettlement process and future processes that are yet to be finished. The guests were then briefed on the day’s trip by U Kyaw Moe Tun, Director-General of the International Organisations and Economic Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Win Myat Aye, U Nyi Pu and the visiting delegation then travelled by helicopter to Ngakhuya Village and inspected the temporary repatriation camp there. The ambassadors interacted with the local residents and asked them questions. The group was then shown the repatriation office compound and the houses set up for the repatriates. The visiting delegation was then taken to the repatriation camp for displaced persons who will return by land in Taung Pyo Letwe Township. The group toured the office compound, the temporary shelters for displaced persons and the bridge connecting Myanmar and Bangladesh borders. The group then visited Hla Pho Khaung, a transit camp where displaced persons can take up temporary residence. By noon, the group arrived in Kanyin Chaung Special Economic Zone and inspected the construction process and the border trade situation there. They then travelled to Border Gate (1) in Maungtaw Township and inspected the area. The group then went to the local market in Maungtaw to assess the free trade in the area and bought some items from the vendors there. The Union Minister and his entourage travelled back to Sittway and returned to Yangon in the evening. This is the third trip for diplomats and UN Agencies to disseminate accurate information to international communities on the government’s efforts for repatriation. Union Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye and the delegation comprised of Ambassadors and officials from 13 Embassies in Yangon as well as representatives from 8 UN agencies and ADB to witness true situation in Rakhine State. —MNA, The Global New Light of Myanmar ---------------------------------------

Ambulance donation ceremony held in Sittway Sittway February 15

A ceremony to donate an ambulance to the Rakhine Region Government by the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was held in front of the Rakhine State Government’s office on 15 February. The Commercial Counsellor of the Bangladesh embassy in Yangon Mr. Hasan Khaled Foisal handed over the necessary documents for donation to Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu. This is the third ambulance donation by the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, and the previous ambulances have already been transferred to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. —Tin Htun (IPRD), The Global New Light of Myanmar